I have remained quiet on the 2009 threads until now (those who know me know I stay away from YT drama), but I need to say something...
This was the most frustrating part of the last meet-up. Last year, the meet-up committee posted a poll just like this, and after the Midwest won out by a landslide, the meet-up committee chose KC because it was the middle of the US. Then, they asked me to be on the committee as their 5th member because I was originally from there and could offer insight. Due to outside circumstances, 3 of the 4 original committee members ended up resigning from the committee, which only left 1 original member (Jodie) plus me. After counting through the original discussion threads to see how many would "for sure" be there, I decided it would be worth my time to put the meet-up together because there were SO MANY who said they would FOR SURE be there. This was AFTER KC was already chosen! I ended up planning the whole thing, with Jodie (LuvMySissy) helping with vendors and Michele (MyFairLacy) helping with the raffle and goodie bags. Then, after committing so much of my personal time to putting the meet-up together, we had a VERY LOW turnout compared to the original numbers who said they'd "for sure" be there. This is very disappointing from the perspective of those of us who committed to making the meet-up happen for you guys!
Like you said, I TOO hope all those who voted are SERIOUS about coming, because otherwise it's going to be just like last year - HUGE initial responses with LOW registration once the details are posted. I do realize things come up, and people are not always able to make plans that they'd originally hoped for, but I hope people can see it from my perspective and the committee's perspective that it takes A LOT of time to put together something like this for such a large group, and it's frustrating to us and our families who are neglected during the planning stages when people don't follow through with their commitments. I'm not wanting to offend anyone with my post, but I ask that you see it from our perspective. That is precisely why Jodie chose to make the poll so we could see who was voting for what - so that people are hopefully accountable for their votes and will follow through with attending once they say they will. This was in lieu of charging everyone an upfront fee to be allowed a vote, which was also something the committee discussed.
As for other expenses, there is no way to know at this point what the registration fee will cost. We will not know this amount until we know a location and can start contracting with hotels. Unfortunately, "pet friendly" hotels have a way of changing their tune when you tell them you'll have 50-100 dogs in their hotel all at once (trust me...I called EVERY hotel on the KC Plaza area - many that were pet friendly, and only
ONE would allow us), and they also have a way of changing their tune on refundable pet fees. We will try to find a hotel with a campground close for those interested in camping, but that's something you need to keep in mind while voting too if you're interested in camping. I know there is camping in San Diego. I can't speak for the rest of the locations. I'm sorry some thought the registration fees were high for the last meet-up, but we actually lost money on the initial registration fees (but I had to offer a cheaper price and create an incentive for people to register right away since I owed a $1000 deposit to the hotel 1 month after my original post went out about all the details), and we only "profitted" 14 CENTS on the next higher registration fees above the cost of the food. We made a little more on the later rates ($10 or so), but that just went to cover the meeting room expense. As those of you who followed the 2008 meet-up thread know, because of the low registration, I was actually looking at paying close to $1000 out of pocket at one point because we had not met the minimum food and beverage charges the hotel was requiring, due to the low registration. Fortunately I pleaded our case and they agreed to drop the minimum, but these are the reasons we are concerned with only those serious about attending casting their vote. We had a great time at the 2008 meet-up, and I can only hope 2009 will be just as great, if not BETTER! Again, I do not wish to cause drama or offend anyone by my post - I just ask that you look at it from the committee's perspective to see why we are seemingly such "sticklers" about some of this. I know you would each feel the same way if you were devoting MONTHS of YOUR time to putting together such a nice event for your fellow YTers. Thank you! And I hope to meet you each in 2009
!